What is take rate in ad tech?
Take rate is the percentage of the money flowing through an ad tech platform that the platform keeps as its fee. For example, if an SSP clears $100 of ad spend and pays the publisher $85, its take rate is 15%. Investors use it to compare business models, and buyers use it to judge how much each intermediary costs.
Take rate is usually calculated as net revenue divided by gross spend. DSP take rates are often estimated in the high teens to low twenties of media cost; SSP take rates have typically been lower, though figures vary by company and deal type and are not always disclosed.
Take rates add up across the chain into the ad tech tax. Pressure from buyers doing supply path optimization and from direct publisher connections tends to push take rates down, while value-added services such as data and curation push them up.